Electrical wiring terminal



R. E. KRAFT ELECTRICAL WIRING TERMINAL April 21,1953

Filed NOV. 18, 1950 RUSSELL E. KRAFT IN VEN TOR.

Patented Apr. 21, 1953 ELECTRICAL WIRING TERMINAL Russell E. Kraft, Parsippany, N. J., assignor to United Technical Laboratories, Morristown,

N. J a partnership Application November 18, 1950, Serial No. 196,455

This invention relates to electrical wiring terminals, wherein soldering or wiring terminals are assembled on an insulator strip or panel, and more particularly to a novel construction of such terminals and supporting strips, whereby the cost of manufacturing the individual components, and the assembly thereof, is reduced substantially.

Electrical wiring terminals of the type contemplated by this invention generally comprise a supporting strip of insulating material, such as a plastic, to which is attached metallic mounting brackets and a plurality of metallic terminals to which individual electrical conductors may be soldered. Such connection terminals find Wide use in various electrical and electronic devices. According to existing standard practices of manufacturing such connection terminals, the mounting brackets and the soldering terminals are formed by a stamping and forming operation, and the insulator strip is likewise punched, or molded, said strip being provided with holes for the reception of the attaching portions of the individual brackets and soldering terminals. These parts are then assembled together by means of rivets or other securing means.

An object of this invention is the provision of an electrical wiring terminal in which the mounting brackets and the individual soldering terminals are removably, but securely, attached to an insulated mounting strip without the use of additional securing means, whereby the cost of assembling such device is materially reduced.

An object of this invention is the provision of an electrical wiring terminal comprising an insulator strip and a plurality of individual soldering terminals, wherein the terminals are secured in position on the strip by a self-retaining, snap action.

An object of this invention is the provision of an electrical wiring terminal comprising a strip of insulating material provided with a set of transverse, opposed notches, and a metallic soldering terminal adapted for insertion into aligned notches in said strip, said soldering terminal having inwardly-extending fingers spaced aparta distance less than the thickness of the insulator strip.

An object of this invention is the provision of an electrical wiring terminal comprising a mounting strip of insulating material, said strip having opposed notches in the side Walls, a soldering terminal having a substantially U-shaped body section terminating in a soldering portion, and a pair of fingers extending inwardly from the legs of the said body section, said soldering terminal 3 Claims. (Cl. 173324) being attached to the mounting strip such that the base of the U-shaped body section and the inwardly-extending fingers lie in opposed notches of the strip.

An object of this invention is the provision of a soldering terminal comprising a substantially U-shaped body section terminatin in an end to which a wire may be soldered, and a pair of tapered fingers extending inwardly from the legs of the U-shaped body section. I

,These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not to be construed as defining the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a soldering terminal made in accordance with this invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are similar views of terminals having modified ends to which wires or cables may be soldered;

Figure 4 is an isometric view of the mounting strip provided with opposed notches in the side walls;

Figure 5 is an isometric, fragmentary view illustrating the method of attaching the soldering terminal to the mounting strip;

Figure 6 is an isometric view of a mounting bracket having a body section corresponding to that of the soldering terminals shown in Figures 1-3; and

Figure '7 is an isometric view of an assembled wiring terminal including two mounting brackets and a plurality of soldering terminals having different soldering tips.

Referring now to Figure l, a soldering terminal I 0 made in accordance with my invention comprises a unitary, metallic piece formed by a stamping operation. The terminal is provided with an aperture I l, whereby the body section i 2 is substantially U-shaped consisting of a base section [3 and the legs It. The upper end of the terminal may be given a variety of shapes, as illustrated in Figures 1-3, to facilitate the soldering of wire leads or cables thereto, such ends being pre-tinned for this purpose. Specifically, in the Figure 1 design, the soldering end 15 in-' cludes a hole I 6 through which the wire to be soldered may be looped. In the Figure 2 design, the soldering end is formed into an arcuate channel section I! to accommodate relatively 3 heavy wires, and in the Figure 3 construction the soldering end is slotted and the center section 18 is offset to accommodate a wire disposed transversely therebetween. Extending inwardly from each of the legs M of the U-shaped body section are a set of aligned fingers, or projections 20 having sloping .side walls presented to the end of the terminal, as shown.

The mounting strip is shown in Figure 4 and comprises a flat plate 2|, made of any suitable insulating material such as a plastic, and provided with transverse, opposed notches, or slots, 22, 22', in the side edges. Such strip may be made by a stamping operation oryin larger sizes, by molding. The longitudinal spacing of these notches is a matter of design choice. However, the width of the notches is slightly greater than the thickness of the soldering terminal and the transverse distance between the bases of each set of opposed notches is slightly less than the vertical dimension of the aperture il in such soldering terminal. Also, the lateral spacing between the tips of the fingers 20 of thesoldering, terminal, preferably, is somewhat less than the thickness of the mounting plate 21. The reason for these dimensional requirements will become apparent 'hereinbelo'w.

To mechanically assemble a soldering terminal on the mounting strip the forme'i-"ismere- 1y forced over the latter in the region'of one of the notches 22, as shown in Figure '5. The soldering terminal is made of a spring material such as'Phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, "etc., and the leg portions 14 can readily be forced apart with the tips of the fingers 2'0 contacting opposite surfaces of the mounting plate 21. The sloping surfaces leading from the end of the terminal to the fingers facilitates insertion of the terminal over the mounting strip to the position shown in Figure 5. 'By pressing downward on the soldering terminal ID the base section 13 will fall into the notch 22 and just prior to the point where the base section rests upon the baseof the notch the fingers 2D will snap into the opposed notch 22'. The solderingt'erminal, therefore, is retained in position on the'mounting plate and while there is possible a slight relative motion between such terminal and the mounting plate (due to the clearance :dimensions above referred to) this is of no practical significance. More importantly, the terminal is securely fastened with respect to the mounting "strip by means of the simple assembly operation described. 'If necessary, or desired, such terminal can be removed from the mounting strip by prying one leg outwardly with a screw driver, or other suitable tool, until the corresponding finger lies on the strip surface, repeating such operation on the other leg, and then withdrawing the soldering terminal as a'whole.

While I prefer to make the soldering terminal of a spring material such preference is not to be construed as limiting the scope :of the invention. If the soldering terminal is made of copper, brass, or other relatively soft material, the fingers of the leg section'may be pressed toward each other by means of 'a .pair of pliers exerting opposed pressure upon the outer s'id'es of the leg sections to deform the material the slight amount required to bring the finger tips below the surfaces of the mounting plate and within the notch 22. Such considerations "also apply in cases wherein "the soldering terminal is made of heavy spring material Wherebyexcessive force may be required to insert the terminal over the mounting plate, and when, for desired reasons, such mounting plate is relatively 1 thick.

An assembled wiring terminal is shown in Figure '7. The mounting strip 2! carries a mounting bracket 25 at each end, such brackets being provided with a hole 25 to accommodate mounting screws or bolts by which the entire wiring terminal may be secured to a panel, chassis, or etc. The mounting terminal is shown more clearly in Figure 6 from which it is apparent such terminals may be attached to the mounting strip in exactly the same manner as the individual soldering terminals [0, iii, 10''. While Figure '7 illustrates an assembly of the three 'diiie'rent type soldering terminals shown in Figures 1-3, it is apparent a given wiring terminal will, generally, include a desired number of similar terminals, and that such terminals may 'be spaced apart any desired distance 'consistent with the electrical insulation requirements of the circuits and thespace required for the operation of soldering the wires to each such terminal.

Having now described my invention in'detail in accordance with the patent statutes, various changes and modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled inthis art, and it is intended that -such changes and modifications shall fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as recited in the following claims.

1. Ina device of the type described the'combination of a substantially rectangular "strip of insulating material; a pair 'of relatively-thin, transverse slots in opposite side edges of the strip, said slots being alined "with each other and disposed in 'a plane normal to that of the strip; asubstantially-flat Ushaped soldering terminal lying in a plane normal to that of the "strip, said terminal including a base section partially disposed within one of said slots, parallel-extend ing legs spanning the strip and inwardly directed projections extending from each leg into the otherof said slots.

2. 'The invention as recited in claim '1, "wherein the said terminal is made of spring material and the said projections are tapered, one surface defining such taper being normal to the plane of the strip.

3. The invention as recited in claim -1, including a second set of relatively-thin, transverse, alined slots in opposite side edges of the strip; and an -L-shaped mounting bracket having a hat, 'U-shape'd portion lying in a plane normal to that of the strip, said flat U-shaped portion including a base partially disposed within one of the second set of slots, parallel-extending legs spanning the strip and inwardly-directed project-ion extending from each leg into the other slot of said second set of slots.

RUSSELL E.

References Cited in the 'file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,587,696 Carter June 8, 1926 2,150,388 Martindell Mar. 14, 1939 2,393,596 :Del Camp Aug. 18, 1942 2,592,253 Fox :28, 1950 2,535,356 Gilbert Dec. #26, 1950 

